There was a time when you couldn’t walk down a supermarket aisle or go to a food fair without being confronted by salted caramel flavours. Ditto matcha (although, I believe we’re still waiting for the earthy green stuff to peak). Years ago, I even found a lip balm flavoured, quite questionably, with gin and tonic.
Food phases: they come and go. Right now? It’s the turn of hot honey.
If you’re the sort of person to eat any sort of food, ever, you can’t have missed this trend. It’s everywhere, from flatbread and popcorn to literal chilli-spiked honey.
Where did hot honey hype come from?
Emilie Wolfman, Trend and Innovation Manager at Waitrose explains, “The variety of spicy or ‘swicy’ [sweet and spicy] foods has taken off enormously in the last couple of years, and as customers try different cuisines, experiment at home with their store cupboard essentials, and dabble in different levels of heat, they have begun to seek out more bold flavours. The sweet and spicy or ‘swicy’ phenomenon is a great example of how customers who might previously have been scared off by too much heat, are now dipping a toe via things like hot honey and marinades where the heat is softened at the edges. Some customers just want straight up spice, therefore we see the interest in scotch bonnet chillis, nduja pastes, chilli oils and so on taking off alongside the sweeter options.”
Wolfman continues: “Once upon a time, a spicy curry or chilli would likely be the only way the majority of customers experienced chilli heat in their kitchens, but now, due to the vast array of global cuisines we cook and love to eat regularly, shoppers are seeking out new culinary adventures, using spice as a way to challenge their taste buds.”
Can you make hot honey at home?
Of course! Simply heat the honey gently before adding in dried chilli flakes, diced fresh chilli or jalapeno, along with a glug of vinegar or hot sauce to help the notes mingle together. Simmer gently and allow to cool. Once it has, you can run the honey through a strainer to remove the chilli or leave them in there for a more intense flavour punch.
As a self-described spice addict with an entire kitchen cupboard dedicated to hot sauce, I have fallen hook, line and sinker for the hot honey trend. It’s a far more approachable way to enjoy chilli, and it has a range of uses, from drizzling over piping hot pizza to dunking chicken tenders. And, as you’re about to discover, it can be used in a variety of foodstuffs as a headline ingredient.
Move over salted caramel, there’s a buzzy new flavour sheriff in town.
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Daylesford Organic Hot Chilli Honey
Even Daylesford has found itself seduced by the lure of hot honey. The grocer offers its acacia and Pasilla chilli pepper rendition in a glass jar, making it kitchen countertop-ready. Plonk it dead centre on your cheeseboard after supper - that’ll get your dinner party guest’s tongues wagging.
Buy now £15.00, Daylesford Organic
Piggy's Hot Honey Original 350g
It may look like something you’d find on a sticky Louisiana BBQ joint, but Piggy’s actually hails from Glasgow, a city that never turns down a bit of heat. The recipe fuses 100 per cent blossom honey with Scotch Bonnet and chipotle flavours, creating a bold flavour that’s crying out to be slathered on chicken joints and ears of roasted corn.
Buy now £9.99, Selfridges
M&S Hot Honey Sauce
Proving hot honey needn’t remain in its original form, M&S has added the stuff to a barbecue sauce recipe, taking the usually sweet condiment up to a medium spice level. The thicker formula is delivered in a glass bottle, which makes it easier to recycle but harder to eke out the final drops. Perfect as a grilled chicken wing dip.
Buy now £2.00, Ocado
JD’s Original Hot Jalapeno Infused Honey 350g
American brand JD’s is here to take your meals to the next, flavoursome level. Its honey comes infused with the mild, warming twang of Mexican jalapeno. It’s great on pizza and works wonders on grilled fish. I can imagine it shining as a dip for mozzarella dippers too.
Buy now £7.99, Selfridges
Fortnums Hot Chilli Chef's Honey, 200g
This is not a fire drill. This is F&M’s take on the hot honey mania, made with whole Mexican Guajillo Chilli, a touch of red chilli extract, and of course, sweet runny honey. Destined to be the hardest working condiment in your larder, its versatile to the end. Drizzle it over pizza, risotto, into salad dressings or even over ice cream if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.
Buy now £13.95, F&M
Hot Star Honey Habanero Hot Chilli Honey
Hot Star takes swicy and turns it into an art: it has three sauces on offer depending on your heat level, from Scotch Bonnet to cayenne and habanero. It will work just as well daubed on cheese and crackers as it will in a weekday stir-fry.
Buy now £8.99, Amazon
The Saucerer Calabrian Hot Honey Tomato Pasta Sauce
I know, I know, making pasta sauce is one of the easiest culinary tasks around, but when you’re in a hurry for a good meal, the jarred kind can save you from the throes of hanger. This stir-in pot is the result of a collab between sauce brand The Saucerer and Hackey’s own Tom’s Pasta, made with fiery Italian chillies and mellow honey. Whack it over penne, or try it in a lasagne.
Buy now £5.40, Delli
Jaffa Cakes Hot Honey flavour
No stranger to trying out a new food trend, McVitie’s has answered the call through the medium of teatime favourite, Jaffa Cakes. The light sponge base and dark chocolate remain the same, but the centre has been treated to a hot honey makeover.
Buy now £1.50, Tesco
Waitrose Summer 2 Hot Honey Flatbread
The only issue with hot honey is that it has a way of snaking down all over your hands when you’re trying to eat. Neat eaters who still want the flavour pay-off will do well with Waitrose’s hand-stretched flatbreads which come imbued with swicy notes. Use them in a wrap, toast them into tortilla chips, or warm them gently to tear and share with friends and a pot of hummus.
Buy now £1.20, Waitrose
Waitrose Hot Honey Halloumi Kebabs
Whether you’re keeping your grill in action over the next few months or you want a meal that’ll spirit you away from grey days, Waitrose’s summer range has the goods. The halloumi kebabs are delightful with a fresh salad, even more so thanks to the abundant hot honey coating. Expect a heatwave of your own doing.
Buy now £5.00, Waitrose
Whittard Hot Honey Flavour Hot Chocolate
With cooler weather closing it, the case for sitting down with a warming cup of hot chocolate has never felt so appealing. Until Whittard cracked out its hot honey flavoured drink, that is. Chilli and chocolate have always been a winning duo, but with honey in the mix, it adds a depth of flavour and sweetness that feels like the missing link.
Buy now £11.95, Whittard
Sainsbury's Honey Sriracha Flavour Hand Cooked Crisps, Limited Edition, Taste the Difference 150g
Crisps are the perfect vehicle for fun foodie trends, as Sainsbury's heroically demonstrates wit its Taste the Difference offering. While sweet crisps, in general, haven't hit home with the British palate, adding in Sriracha and ginger flavours greatly ups its appeal.
Buy now £1.50, Sainsbury's
